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| 2. |
- Sofrata, Abier H, et al.
(författare)
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Strong antibacterial effect of miswak against oral microorganisms associated with periodontitis and caries.
- 2008
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Ingår i: Journal of periodontology. - : Wiley. - 0022-3492 .- 1943-3670. ; 79:8, s. 1474-9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: The chewing stick (miswak) is used for oral hygiene in many parts of the world. In addition to the mechanical removal of plaque, an antibacterial effect has been postulated; however, tests of miswak extract from Salvadora persica (Arak) disclosed only low to moderate antibacterial effects. This may be attributable to the extraction process. Our aim was to test in vitro the antibacterial effect of miswak pieces, without extraction, on bacteria implicated in the etiology of periodontitis and caries. METHODS: Miswak pieces were standardized by size and weight (0.07 and 0.14 g) and tested against Streptococcus mutans, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (previously Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans), Porphyromonas gingivalis, and, as a reference, Haemophilus influenzae. The miswak pieces were tested in two ways: embedded in the agar plate or suspended above the agar plate. RESULTS: The inhibitory effect was most pronounced on P. gingivalis, A. actinomycetemcomitans, and H. influenzae, less on S. mutans, and least on L. acidophilus. Suspended miswak had comparable or stronger effects than miswak embedded in agar. The 0.14-g suspended miswak exhibited significantly greater inhibition on A. actinomycetemcomitans and H. influenzae than the 0.14-g miswak embedded in agar (P<0.01 and P<0.001, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Miswak embedded in agar or suspended above the agar plate had strong antibacterial effects against all bacteria tested. The antibacterial effect of suspended miswak pieces suggests the presence of volatile active antibacterial compounds.
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| 3. |
- Deutschmann, Mats, 1964-, et al.
(författare)
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“Let’s Keep it Informal, Guys” : a Study of the Effects of Teacher Communicative Strategies on Student Activity and Collaborative Learning in Internet-based English Courses
- 2008
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Ingår i: Tidskrift för lärarutbildning och forskning. - Umeå : The faculty board for teacher education. - 1404-7659. ; 15:2, s. 36-58
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The paper explores the quantity and quality of communication produced by teachers in Internet courses of academic English, particularly during the initial stages of course activity. The courses are entirely conducted in virtual learning environments without physical meetings, and are part of the Bachelor programme (A–C level) of English at Mid Sweden University. The pedagogic design of the courses is based on collaborative learning, which presupposes a communicative environment with positive interdependence and interaction, where knowledge is shared by students questioning and challenging each other. Consequently, the teacher’s role in setting communicative norms which encourage an environment of high acceptance, where students feel that they can express their opinions freely, is of utmost importance. The results suggest that there are two important factors that affect student activity in the initial stages of an online course: how much the teacher communicates with the class and the manner in which he or she does so.
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| 4. |
- Benzein, Eva, et al.
(författare)
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Families' importance in nursing care : nurses' attitudes - an instrument development
- 2008
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Ingår i: Journal of Family Nursing. - Thousand Oaks : Sage Publications. - 1074-8407 .- 1552-549X. ; 14:1, s. 97-117
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article describes the development and testing of a research instrument, Families' Importance in Nursing Care-Nurses' Attitudes (FINC-NA), designed to measure nurses' attitudes about the importance of involving families in nursing care. The instrument was inductively developed from a literature review and tested with a sample of Swedish nurses. An item-total correlation and a first principal component analysis were used to validate the final instrument, including a second principal component analysis to analyze dimensionality, and Cronbach's alpha was used to estimate internal consistency. The instrument consists of 26 items and reveals four factors: families as a resource in nursing care, family as a conversational partner, family as a burden, and family as its own resource. Cronbach's alpha was 0.88 for the total instrument and 0.69 to 0.80 for the subscales. The instrument requires further testing with other nurse populations.
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| 5. |
- Wallensten, Anders, et al.
(författare)
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Multiple gene segment reassortment between Eurasian and American lineages of influenza A virus (H6N2) in Guillemot (Uria aalge).
- 2005
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Ingår i: Archives of Virology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0304-8608 .- 1432-8798. ; 150:8, s. 1685-92
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Guillemots banded in the northern Baltic Sea were screened for influenza A virus (IAV). Three out of 26 sampled birds tested positive by RT-PCR. Two of these were characterized as subtype H6N2. Phylogenetic analyses showed that five gene segments belonged to the American avian lineage of IAVs, whereas three gene segments belonged to the Eurasian lineage. Our findings indicate that avian IAVs may have a taxonomically wider reservoir spectrum than previously known and we present the first report of a chimeric avian IAV with genes of American and Eurasian origin in Europe.
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| 6. |
- Persson, A, et al.
(författare)
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Buffering effect of a prophyactic gel on dental plaque in institutionalised elderly
- 2007
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Ingår i: GERODONTOLOGY. - : Wiley. - 0734-0664 .- 1741-2358. ; 24:2, s. 98-104
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives: The effect of multiple daily applications of a prophylactic gel, with buffering substances, on plaque acidogenicity in elderly institutionalised individuals was evaluated. Background: Many elderly suffer from reduced salivary flow, poor oral hygiene and increased levels of cariogenic bacteria and are considered to be at an increased risk for coronal and root caries. Reinforcing the buffering capacity of dental plaque by the addition of substances such as bicarbonate and phosphates may decrease their caries activity. Materials and methods: Fourteen elderly, with subjective dry mouth, were treated for 16-day-periods at random with: (i) Profylin fluoride gel with buffering components; (ii) Profylin fluoride gel without buffering components and (iii) rinsing with water. Applications were made four times a day and each period was followed by a 2-week wash-out period. The plaque pH was registered after a carbohydrate challenge and the following were recorded before and after each test period: stimulated salivary secretion rate, buffer capacity, number Colony Farming Units (CFU) mutans streptococci, lactobacilli and a sample of Candida albicans on oral mucosa. Results: Eleven participants (mean age 76.6 years) fulfilled the study. Changes in plaque pH measurements, when calculated as area under the curve (AUC6.2 and AUC5.7) values (pH × min), before and after each of the three treatments, showed no significant differences. A tendency to a higher plaque acidogenicity and amount of cariogenic microorganisms was found after the gel treatments. C. albicans was found in low levels. Conclusion: Frequent applications of the gel did not result in an improved neutralising effect in the elderly. This may be caused by a combination of several factors, such as the level of oral dryness of the individuals and low solubility, release and retention of the gel substances in plaque. Instead, an increased plaque acidogenicity was noted.
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| 7. |
- Bengtsson-Tops, A, et al.
(författare)
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Subjective versus interviewer assessment of global quality of life among persons with schizophrenia living in the community: A Nordic multicentre study
- 2005
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Ingår i: Quality of Life Research. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1573-2649 .- 0962-9343. ; 14:1, s. 221-229
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Few studies have investigated differences between subjective and externally assessed quality of life in individuals with a severe mental illness. In a sample of 387 patients with schizophrenia living in the community the present study investigated the association between subjective and interviewer-rated quality of life, clinical and sociodemographic factors related to the two assessments, and if discrepancies in the assessments were related to any clinical or social features of the patients. Method: The study was a Nordic multicentre study with a cross-sectional design. Instruments used were the Lancashire Quality of Life Profile, the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, the Interview Schedule for Social Interaction, Camberwell Assessment of Needs and General Assessment of Functioning. Results: The correlation between subjective and interviewer-rated quality of life was moderate (ICC=0.33). More severe affective symptoms, fewer emotional relations and a lower monthly income were related to poorer subjectively rated quality of life but in a stepwise multiple regression analysis accounted for only 14.1 of the variance. Poorer interviewer-rated quality of life was mainly related to a more severe psychopathology but also to a lower monthly income, fewer emotional relations and not being employed. Together these factors accounted for 45.5 of the variance. A greater discrepancy between the subjective and the interviewer rating was found in patients with less affective symptoms, unemployment, and a better social network. Conclusion: Only a moderate correlation between subjective and interviewer-assessed global quality of life was found, implying that the sources of assessment differed, as was also shown in subsequent regression models. It is concluded that both perspectives on the patient's quality of life may be valuable for treatment planning, especially in cases where differences in quality of life assessment related to the patient's psychopathology may be expected.
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| 8. |
- Pinay, Gilles, et al.
(författare)
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Patterns of denitrification rates in European alluvial soils under various hydrological regimes
- 2007
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Ingår i: Freshwater Biology. - : Wiley. - 0046-5070 .- 1365-2427. ; 52:2, s. 252-266
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- 1. Denitrification in floodplain soils is one of the main biological processes emitting and reducing nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas, and the main process responsible for the buffering capacity of riparian zones against diffuse nitrate pollution.2. The aim of this study was to measure denitrification rates under a wide range of current climatic conditions and hydrological regimes in Europe (from latitude 64°N to latitude 42°N and from longitude 2°W to longitude 25°E), in order to determine the response patterns of this microbial process under different climatic and hydrological conditions, and to identify denitrification proxies robust enough to be used at the European scale.3. Denitrification activity was significant in all the floodplain soils studied whatever the latitude. However, we found an increase in rates of an order of magnitude from high to mid latitudes. Maximum rates (above 30 g N m-2 month-1) were measured in the maritime conditions of the Trent floodplain. These rates are similar to mineralisation rates measured in alluvial soils and of the same order of magnitude as the amount of N stored in herbaceous plants in alluvial soils.4. We used Multivariate Adaptative Regression Splines to relate the response variable denitrification with five relevant predictors, namely soil moisture, temperature, silt plus clay, nitrate content and herbaceous plant biomass.5. Soil moisture, temperature, and nitrate were the three main control variables of microbial denitrification in alluvial soils in decreasing order of importance.6. The model developed for denitrification with interaction effects outperformed a pure additive model. Soil moisture was involved in all interactions, emphasising its importance in predicting denitrification.7. These results are discussed in the context of scenarios for future change in European hydrological regimes.
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| 9. |
- Droppe, Adam
(författare)
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Kategoriseringssjuka
- 2008
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)
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